In today’s “vlog,” I answer a question that Greg asked in the forums of the Puttytribe. Greg has just started a blog and wants to know how to get more readers so he can eventually turn it into a business.

Here’s my answer to Greg:

Your Turn

What strategies have you used to grow your blog? I’m sure Greg would love to hear your ideas in the comments below.

Did you know you can ask a question to your multipotentialite peers just like Greg did? Check out the Puttytribe and join our supportive community of over 500 multipotentialites from around the world!

19 Comments

I think you gave all the great points/ideas Emilie!! I try to comment on other people’s blogs that have similar interests to me or who I just enjoy reading. But I am genuine when I interact. Well, I try to be. LOL. If the blog post topic isn’t something I have anything interesting to contribute, then I don’t comment. I don’t comment for the sake of commenting, is what I mean. Hope some of what I said makes sense. ?

That totally makes sense. Another thing I did in the early days is I used to be a part of a commenting circle: a group of 10-or-so bloggers, who would comment on each other’s posts. You’d just let the group know when you had a new post up and if it resonated with them, they’d post comments and you’d do the same for them. It’s nice to have a handful of comments. I think it encourages other people to add comments, too.

I’m just getting started on my blog/site. As in I have one post so far.
It takes time to prep. Video is a whole other world. I’m sure it gets easier, but initially. Finding a video editor, taking the time to set up music, etc. What I’m doing is very visual so I also have photos to take. I want them to look nice and not be a quick phone snap. It all takes time & that alone is a big learning curve plus what to do to grow my regular readers. I knew these things, yet I didn’t expect it would take me so much time. Especially to get it started. But it’s like everything worthwhile, it does take time & effort.

This is great stuff, Emilie! I’m in Greg’s exact position, and I really appreciate your advice here–both your specific advice (like the Twitter private list) and the general reassurance that it just takes time.

Hey Emily and Greg, Tx for the question and the answer. And Emily, you are a delight to listen to. The key is to be personal and to build personal relationships. So; be warm, be attentive and be affectionate. Tx for the tips. Paul

I’m the original Greg that Emilie responded to via video(Thanks Again Emilie!)

The best part about running a blog for me as a Multipod is the multi-faceted challenges I go through while creating it: computer/technical skills, writing, social media promotion, marketing, visual design etc. It’s been a HUGE learning curve for me, but certainly a labor of love. I put my heart and soul into my posts and it’s certainly a great vehicle for self-expression.

As I use Twitter more to try and gain exposure, I’m understanding that it’s almost like “Facebook in reverse”. Whereas on FB you’re adding someone as a friend whom you’ve met in real life, and then you comment on and share their posts- in the Twittersphere, you’re replying to and re-posting the tweets of complete strangers- and then the friendship actually develops from there. It’s a bit odd to get my mind around it, but is starting to make sense!

I inch along in my blogging with a long game mindset of persistence, discipline and consistency. One day, I hope to have cultivated a super awesome “tribe” of my own.

I would love to keep this conversation going as I am also new to blogging! I have been working on regularly posting content, and even worked with others in my niche to write guest posts to connect with them and form relationships. I am having a ton of fun and loving it so far! Keep it up!!

Hi Emilie, Thanks for talking to us about this. A couple of ways I know is to concentrate on SEO (search engine optimization), starting with having the right keywords and internal and external linking going on to collaborations with others who promote or link to your stuff. This all takes quite some time as Emilie, you point out. Developing your style, ability, and the connections doesn’t happen overnight. Another slightly faster way to get readers, is through Pinterest where you design some pinnable images that link to your post and share these with other pinners…though I see the ultimate as being SEO for Google searches in the long run. Persistence and patience are the key I believe. Cheers M-A

Thanks for this Emilie! I’m totally going to try the twitter list tip. What’s worked for me over the first year – meeting people in-person at either meetups or big events, like the World Domination Summit (where we also met!)

Thanks for your video, I really liked it, and I also liked the discussion below. I am just on the verge of launching my new website about abstract artmaking (www.simonenijboer.com).
I did not have one visitor yet since the website is completely new. But I already wrote a free guide (Make Art Now) as a kind of present, and I hope people like it and subscribe to my list.
I also created free downloadable art-cards, that I want to share on Instagram and Pinterest.

There is a terrible amount of information on the Internet, and you can easily get lost. There are some interesting blogs though that I read to gather information. For SEO for instance the ‘Yoast’-blog (they have a good free plugin). I also read the blogs of Teachable and Convertkit. They promote their products, but they also give a lot of well-written information that I find valuable and not ‘too loud’ (as there is a lot of really loud information on the Internet).

I think blogging is indeed a wonderful thing for multipotentialites, especially for introverts. I absolutely love writing about art and creativity and ‘life in general’ – it comes all together on my blog.

What I really like about your blog, Emily, is that you have this ‘real’ voice. You are not hiding behind the facade of the ‘expert’ but are talking from your own direct experience. I love that. For me it might be a bit more difficult to develop ‘my own voice’ since I am not a native speaker (I’m Dutch).

Yeah- there is SO MUCH information on the internet, I often find it overwhelming and you never know who’s a snake oil salesman, or legitimate. I like Puttylike as it’s also not “too loud”, just humble people trying to make sense of work, play and life…